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SomeoneI don't know whoonce suggested that the first thing
to die before every war was the truth.

In recent weeks President "I don't do my own thinking" Bush's
administration has been in full wash, rinse, spin and dry mode as
Bush announced the creation of an investigative committee to look
into the 'intelligence failures' that led us into war.

We don't need to look into that which we already know. Neither does
Bush.

The Bush administration created subgroup with the intelligence
community known as the "Office of Special Plans" which reported to
VP Dick Cheney.

This subgroup transfered or forcibly retired any intelligence
officer who was more interested in telling the truth than in
creating the propaganda need to drive the nation to war.

Here's what now retired Lt. Col. Kwiatkowski had to say about what
her superiors wanted:

"It wasn't intelligenceit was propaganda," she says. "They'd
take a little bit of intelligence, cherry-pick it, make it sound
much more exciting, usually by taking it out of context, often by
juxtaposition of two pieces of information that don't belong
together." It was by turning such bogus intelligence into talking
points for U.S. officialsincluding ominous lines in speeches by
President Bush and Vice President Cheney, along with Secretary of
State Colin Powell's testimony at the U.N. Security Council last
Februarythat the administration pushed American public opinion
into supporting an unnecessary war.

Until now, the story of how the Bush administration produced its
wildly exaggerated estimates of the threat posed by Iraq has never
been revealed in full. But, for the first time, a detailed
investigation by Mother Jones, based on dozens of interviews
some on the record, some with officials who insisted on anonymity
-- exposes the workings of a secret Pentagon intelligence unit and
of the Defense Department's war-planning task force, the Office of
Special Plans. It's the story of a close-knit team of ideologues who
spent a decade or more hammering out plans for an attack on Iraq and
who used the events of September 11, 2001, to set it into motion.

I suggest that everyone read the entire article "The Lie Factory"
that appeared in the Jan.-Feb 004 issue of Mother Jones. or you can
go to this link.

As I grow older I can't help but wonder how many lies one has to
listen to before he stops listening to the liar. Will mankind ever
tier of having these power crazed lunies screwing with the lives?

Just a quick correction. I should have known better, but I suppose
I heard enough of Mr. Jordan's stories about Verizon and
Massachusetts that I slipped a mental gear: Verizon is formally
headquartered in New York, not Massachusetts.

I used to vote. But I've had a serious change of mind and heart over
the last three years.

The management genius W. Edwards Deming said that, in any
discussion, words must be defined so that those people talking to
each other are sure they understand each other. He used the term
"operational definitions." In order for me to eventually make my
point, kindly allow me to offer some "operational definitions" as
relates to liberty. I'll take these definitions directly from the
Merriam Webster's online dictionary.

"Patriot"one who loves his or her country and supports its
authority and interests.

"Treason"the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the
government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance.

"Traitor"one who commits treason.

The Constitution of the united States represents the legitimate
government of the USA. Any overt act that violates the Constitution
is an act of treason.

Members of Congress (save Ron Paul) enact legislation in every
session that violates the Constitution. The President of the united
States goes to war without a Congressional declaration of war
(Article I, Section 8) and signs the legislation that the Congress
enacts. As these laws and acts are overt, and violate the
Constitution, they are acts that promote the overthrow of the
legitimate government of the united States. Therefore, the persons
who commit these acts are traitors, committing treasonous acts. In
times past, the penalty for treason was quite severe, ranging from
imprisonment to death.

If your friends want to rob a bank, and you furnish and drive the
car, you are an accessory to the crime. In the same manner, if you
know that these people who hold elective office are going to commit
treasonous acts when they take office, and you vote for them, you
are an accessory to their crimes.